Base teacher pay on skills, Gorman says

RALEIGH -- Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Superintendent Peter Gorman has gained notice for improving student performance in an urban district.

On Thursday, he shared his strategies with the State Board of Education. He described ideas for finding and keeping the best teachers and putting them where they're most needed.

Teachers' pay should be based on how well they can teach and motivate students, not necessarily on how long they've worked or whether they have advanced degrees, Gorman said.

"If we pay everyone equally, regardless of effectiveness, we send the wrong message - we're not valuing your gifts," Gorman explained.

He ran through dozens of graphs and slides to illustrate that advanced degrees do not necessarily translate into better teaching, and that the pool of most effective teachers include some relatively new to the profession as well as veterans.

Novice teachers are not as effective as those with more experience, but new teachers populate high poverty schools where students are failing.

Next year, the district will look at how principals assign teachers and include it in the principals' evaluations.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg and Guilford offer extra pay to effective teachers willing to work in high-poverty schools. But that's not a common practice in the state. In many districts, students who need the most help are often left with the more ineffective and inexperienced teachers.

"We've just not done a good job of stepping up to the plate in addressing this," said Bill Harrison, State Board of Education chairman.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg, where more than half the students qualify for subsidized lunch, has improved test scores at high schools that were once in trouble.